The digitalization of invoices and their processing is a key factor for the improvement of process efficiency on the G2B (government-to-business) and G2G (government-to-government) level. Some European countries like Denmark or Spain already started to mandate electronic invoicing, but most other countries in the European Union are still in the planning phase for implementation. This weak adoption rate hinders governments to generate benefits of electronic invoicing, so an understanding of this fact from a public sector perspective is crucial. Still, the majority of preceding studies investigated electronic invoicing from a private sector perspective. In addition to that, an overarching model explaining electronic invoicing adoption is still missing. This paper develops a unifying meta-model of influencing factors of electronic invoicing adoption on governmental level by analyzing relevant literature and by conducting expert interviews. The paper then discusses implications for future research with a focus on the public sector.

Integrating a Differentiated Norm Classification into the Model of Adoption of Technology in Households (MATH)

In: Proceedings of the 19th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS); Helsinki, Finland

Category: Proceedings

Abstract

Throughout the whole history of IS adoption research, researchers struggled to frame, conceptualize, and define social norms in a sufficient way. While research during the last three years provided helpful advice to overcome this challenge, it still remains the question, why other shapes of norms (e.g. cultural norms, religious norms, moral norms, or legal norms) were hardly ever framed or discussed for IS adoption research. To provide a first step within this direction, this research offers a conceptual extension of normative beliefs for the Model of Adoption of Technology in Households (MATH) (Venkatesh and Brown 2001, Brown and Venkatesh 2005) using the norm topology by Gibbs (1965) of sociology research. An operationalization of the new constructs is provided and further steps of this research in progress are discussed.

In times like the current economic downturn, just like when there is growth, companies struggle to meet the challenge of an IT talent shortage as recruitment and HR in general undergo dramatic changes in the methods applied to find suitable candidates and the services provided to internal and external clients. The IT recruiter’s job profile has changed dramatically in the Web 2.0 era as searching for candidates via LinkedIn and Facebook or micro-blogging via Twitter have become part of the recruiter’s daily tools. Apart from all the technical and organizational changes involved, it is still unknown how recruiters and their skill sets will be transformed into those of recruiters 2.0.
The purpose of this chapter is to present the case of a German software manufacturer who invented a Recruiter Training Academy to fulfill their IT recruiters’ need for new and specific skills.

This research paper analyzes the impact of attitudinal, control and normative beliefs on the intention to use social network sites (SNS) by people older than 50. Using the Model of Adoption of Technology in Households (MATH) and the data of 115 social network site adopters and 53 non-adopters it can be shown that the intention of adopters and non-adopters has been influenced by different reasons. Perceived Ease of Use and Normative Beliefs have only a significant impact for adopters. Moreover, this research paper unfolds Fear of Technology as a strong influence factor for non-adopters in regard not to use SNS in their daily routine. The paper concludes with a discussion of an age-sensitive design of SNS in order to address the digital divide.

This special issue on Electronic Human Resources Management (E-HRM) in an E-Business environment looks at opportunities and challenges associated with recruiting and developing firm's workforce in a digital world characterized by endemic talent scarcity, changing values and shifting on- and offline behaviors of candidates and employees.
We first draw on a Delphi study with leading HR executives from 25 internationally renowned large firms and on a quantitative survey with 144 HR managers from German top 1,000 firms to delineate the key trends and issues for modern HR executives. Demographic challenges and the war for talent are seen as the most important trends in firms of all sizes and in all industries, even ahead of, for example, social media or the global economic crisis. Resulting from these trends, our survey reveals that HR managers' most pressing challenges are staff retention and internal and external employer branding. Overall, the results emphasize the importance for an E-HRM that needs to be both effective – adequately fill vacancies – and efficient – make best use of scarce resources.
The papers in the special issue address some of the open issues identified. Overall, in a peer-review process two out of nine submitted articles were selected for the special issue (22 per cent acceptance). The first paper by Stefan Strohmeier scrutinizes how e-portfolios can improve e-recruiting and talent management. The second paper by Sharna Wiblen, David Grant and Kristine Dery uses a single case study to learn how a shift from HRM to E-HRM can affect talent management and people in an organization and transform firm's IT nd HR function.

Social Influence in Technology Adoption Research – A Scientometric Study over two Decades

In: Proceedings of the Special Interest Group on Adoption and Diffusion of Information Technology (DIGIT), (Pre-ICIS Workshop); St. Louis, USA

Category: Proceedings

Abstract

Research on the impact of social influence on the individual Information Systems (IS) user represents one of the major challenges of technology adoption research since the introduction of Technology Acceptance Model in 1989. As several IS researchers still struggle from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective to determine how social influence can be explained and measured, this approach contributes to existing adoption research by providing the findings of a literature analysis of all journal and conference articles of the JAIS journal ranking and the AIS proceedings since 1989. The results
based on 149 relevant papers reveal that social influence is more significant using a individualized measurement and more important for the usage of utilitarian IS. Additionally it is shown that the point of adoption (pre-adoption vs. post adoption) and the degree of free decision-making (mandatory vs. voluntary) do not affect the impact of social influence.

Why do People Reject Technologies? – Towards a Unified Model of Resistance to IT-Induced Organizational Change

In: Proceedings of the Special Interest Group on Adoption and Diffusion of Information Technology (DIGIT), (Pre-ICIS Workshop); St. Louis, USA

Category: Proceedings

Abstract

Based on Oreg (2006) this paper proposes a unified model of technology resistance including resistance as a behavior or behavioral intention (Kim and Kankanhalli 2009), a tri-dimensional construct of resistance to change (Piderit 2000) as an extension to Bhattacherjee and Hikmet (2007) and resistance as a personality trait (Oreg 2003) in order to enable a unified understand why people reject technologies. The evaluation of the model with a study of a new human resources information system shows that the resistance behavior of the researched 106 recruiters could be explained by their affective, behavioral
and cognitive resistance to change as well as their individual personality trait resistance. Several implications for future research are discussed.

Why do People Reject Technologies? – Towards an Understanding of Resistance to IT-induced Organizational Change

In: Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) 2010; St. Louis, USA

Category: Proceedings

Abstract

Research on resistance to information technology is characterized by the fact that there is still no unified understanding about resistance to change of IT-induced organizational change projects (Vithessonthi 2007). In order to provide a deeper understanding why people reject technologies when introduced in organizations this paper develops a Model of Resistance to IT-induced Organizational Change based on micro-organizational change (Oreg 2006) and technology acceptance literature (Venkatesh and Bala 2008). The model posits that work, technology and process related outcomes of business process change are determined by a tri-dimensional resistance to change conceptualization (Piderit 2000; Oreg 2006) and evaluation of process and technology characteristics (Venkatesh 2006). Moreover these dimensions are determined by the context of the change and individual differences such as personality traits. First case study results show that the model is appropriate to gain a deeper understanding why people reject technologies.

Misunderstandings between business and IT resulting from the so-called communication gap are a well-known challenge for the IS field. Based on the concept of joint attention developed in cognitive research this gap can possibly be bridged by boundary spanners acting as knowledge brokers and translators between the different communities of business users and IT experts. To provide a first understanding of those interfaces we present the results of expert interviews describing the development and role of boundary spanners in the corporate context. To arrive at a more detailed view of their abilities and characteristics we tested their skill profile using a skill set based on the EUCIP (European Certification of Informatics Professionals). We come up with 25 common skills of both participants important for the interface function between business and IT.

The economic crisis during the last year which started as major
problem solely for banks and other financial institutions evolved
over time as a large challenge for companies in every industry all
over the world. As IT companies in Germany survived the
economic meltdown quite good, the question is how German IT
personnel feel after a hard year filled of bad news about massive
layoffs and less open positions. Therefore we compared the
individual items of the major IT turnover constructs – job
satisfaction, organizational commitment, perceived alternatives
and turnover intention – for two groups of German IT personnel
before (data gathered in May/June 2008) and after the bust of
Lehman Brothers (June 2009). The results of our empirical
analysis show that IT workers just changed their perception of job
alternatives during the last twelve months. They reported a similar
job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover
intention in 2008 and in 2009.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of business process standardization and how it contributes to generating business value. This research is a step towards a solid theoretical framework around business process standardization.
Design/methodology/approach – A single case study conducted in a global operating company is completed. Standardization of a certain business process (in this case the recruiting process) is shown to contribute to business value.
Findings – By standardizing its recruiting process, the company was able to reduce the “time-to-hire” from 92 to 69 days and the overall costs of the recruiting process by about 30 percent. The quality of the applicant data has clearly improved. Clarity and transparency of the recruiting process could be increased, while the administrative expense within the human resources (HR) departments in the distinct business locations could be reduced significantly.
Research limitations/implications – As with every case study, the generalizability of these findings is limited because the results are based on a single case only and because the focus has been solely on one process – the recruiting process – and did not include other business processes.
Practical implications – The case study can be useful for any company that intends to standardize its recruiting process. Clear indications of how to achieve business value out of process standardization are given.
Originality/value – The paper provides a clear definition of what business process standardization is and how it can lead to increased business value. Clear indications of how to achieve increased business value by business process standardization are provided for practitioners.

The performance impact of business process standardization – An empirical evaluation of the recruitment process

In: Business Process Management Journal (BPMJ), 16(1), pp. 29-56

Category: Publications in scientific journals

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show if business process standardization (BPS) has an impact on business process performance and should be considered as both a valid business process management (BPM) measure and a regular driver of process success.
Design/methodology/approach – An empirical analysis based on data from 156 firms is used to evaluate the hypothesis that process standardization positively impacts business process time, cost, and quality.
Findings – First, the paper proposes a model and empirical operationalization to analyze the impact of process standardization on process performance. Second, empirical analysis shows that BPS has a decisive impact on process performance (R 2 = 61.9 percent). Precisely, there is a significant impact
on process time, cost, and most notably on quality. The results indicate that the impact is strongest in services firms and varies subject to a firm’s strategy type.
Practical implications – The results suggest that BPS should regularly be considered a prime action item and major tool in a firm’s BPM toolbox.
Originality/value – The paper is among the first to empirically show the vital impact of process standardization on performance. For academics and practitioners interested in BPM and the value impact of processes, the results suggest adding process standardization as a regular argument into research on and management of business processes.

Why do they resist? - An empirical analysis of an individual's personality trait resistance regarding the adoption of new information systems

In: Proceedings of the 18th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2010); Pretoria, South Africa

Category: Proceedings

Abstract

In their ISR article 2008 Deveraj et al. asked “How Does Personality Matter?” This article builds upon the discussed idea that an individual’s personality traits have an influence on the technology acceptance and usage intention by empirically analyzing and discussing whether the personality trait resistance has an impact on an individual’s intention to use an information system or not. Therefore the article adopts a scale developed in psychology research to measure dispositional resistance of individuals. The data analysis of 199 research participants who declared that they do not want to use a particular information system in future shows that the personality trait resistance modeled with the four dimensions routine seeking, emotional reaction, short-term focus and cognitive rigidity has significant impacts on an individual’s atti-tude towards an information system, the subjective norm of important others and mediated through attitude on the intention to use this system.